Scream as you stream: 10 movies for Halloween
Get in the spirit with tales of monsters, dark magic and more – all without leaving the house.
It’s finally October, the most horrifying time of the year, where there’s a chill outside and thrills to be had indoors watching spooky movies. So don’t cancel Halloween yet!
Adam Sandler, of all people, gets the season going with Netflix’s “Hubie Halloween” (streaming Wednesday), which casts the popular comedian as an oddball hero who has to save his town from things that go bump in the night. And with COVID-19 still impacting movie theaters and the entertainment industry, “Hubie” and other athome frightfests are the best way to escape from real-life horrors.
So break out your calendar, guys and ghouls: Here are 10 treats to watch on various streaming services and video-on-demand platforms this month to get you in a Halloween mood:
‘Black Box’ (Oct. 6, Amazon)
Produced by Jason Blum as part of his “Welcome to the Blumhouse” anthology, the film stars Mamoudou Athie as an amnesiac dad trying to get his life back after a car accident that killed his wife who undergoes an experimental treatment by a high-profile doctor (Phylicia Rashad) that makes him question his identity even more.
‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’ (Oct. 9, VOD)
A mysterious beast is tearing apart young women in a Utah ski town, and a local cop (writer/director Jim Cummings) has to find the culprit as well as take care of his ailing sheriff dad (Robert Forster) and fight some old personal demons in a new comedic horror take on the werewolf tale.
‘Evil Eye’ (Oct. 13, Amazon)
Priyanka Chopra Jonas executive produces this “Welcome to the Blumhouse” bad romance that stars Sarita Choudhury as an overprotective mother who becomes convinced that the rich guy (Omar Maskati) her daughter (Sunita Mani) is dating tried to kill her decades ago.
‘A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting’ (Oct. 15, Netflix)
For youngsters dipping their toes in eerie waters and not ready for the crazy stuff, there’s this fantasy adventure with Tamara Smart as the newest recruit to a secret organization of babysitters with special powers who keep kids safe from witches, monsters and a pretty nasty boogeyman (“Harry Potter” bad guy Tom Felton).
‘The Mortuary Collection’ (Oct. 15, Shudder)
The creepy anthology centers on a young drifter (Caitlin Custer) who applies for a job at a local mortuary. Her strange new boss (Clancy Brown) regales her with four macabre tales of the town, but saves the best – or the worst, depending on your perspective – for last.
‘Rebecca’ (Oct. 21, Netflix)
Director Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s famed 1938 gothic novel is a psychological thriller that casts Lily James as a newlywed who moves into the lavish English estate of her husband (Armie Hammer), though she learns the place hasn’t escaped the shadow of his first wife.
‘Bad Hair’ (Oct. 23, Hulu)
In the 1989-set horror satire, Anna
(Elle Lorraine) is an executive assistant in the music TV business whose boss (Vanessa Williams) gives her a hard time about her natural hair. She hopes a new weave from a hairstylist (Laverne Cox) will help her succeed, but things turn deadly when it begins to have a mind of its own.
The Craft: Legacy (Oct. 28, VOD)
This follow-up to the witchy 1996 cult hit “The Craft” stars Cailee Spaeny as the new girl in town who’s befriended by three schoolmates (Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone and Zoey Luna) and becomes the fourth member of their coven. Their spells start out innocently and soon grow out of hand as the teens discover their power.
‘His House’ (Oct. 30, Netflix)
Sopé Dìrísù and Wunmi Mosaku play a couple from South Sudan who escape their war-torn homeland and seek asylum in Great Britain. They’re given a home in a seemingly normal English town, and he’s all about moving on while she still has a foot in the past, when something unearthly arises that haunts them in extremely personal ways.
‘Spell’ (Oct. 30, VOD)
Omari Hardwick stars as a man flying his family to his father’s Appalachian funeral when the plane crashes. He wakes up alone and wounded, though his predicament worsens when he realizes a woman (Loretta Devine) is nursing him back to health using dark magic – namely the Boogity, a Hoodoo figure made from his blood and skin.